The Phoenix

Answers

"Lucy! Come on! You need to get dressed!" Emily yelled to her sister.

Last night hadn't been a good one for Lucy. She hadn't gotten any sleep due to her nervous anxiety keeping her up, and the day before had been tiring enough as it is since she had finished moving back in with her older sister.

"Why do I have to wear your stuff?" she groaned collapsing onto the bed.

"Because all of the dresses you own are too short and too shiny."
"That's what you wear to a rave!"

"Exactly! Now put this on." Emily exclaimed, handing Lucy a fleshy-pink colored pencil skirt and a white top.

"Fine." Lucy said, taking the clothes and walking into her bathroom.

Her clothes weren't the only change she had to make. Her makeup was also completely different. The normal dark liquid lipstick was replaced by a light pink one, and her smokey eye had evolved into a blend of various nude shades with only the winged eyeliner remaining untouched. Her contour and highlighter stayed the same however, so she didn't feel completely naked. She did her hair as usual, then changed into her clothes.

"How's this?" she asked her sister.

"Very professional." Emily said, jokingly, as she handed her sister a pair of white high heels.

"Now you're speaking my language." she grinned, slipping them on. The shoes made her taller than her sister.

"Good. Now let's go. You probably don't want to be late on your first day."

The car ride consisted of Emily telling her not to be nervous, which only made her more nervous, and rocking back and forth slightly to ease the anxiety attack that was creeping up on her.

"Just relax, Luc. Seth is really easy to talk to, and nobody's going to be asking you a ton of questions. Your job is probably just going to be taking notes and running errands. There's nothing to worry about. By the way, don't tell him that you're my sister. I want to see how long it takes him to figure it out."

"Okay." she laughed nervously between deep breaths.

It was hard to be calm when you were a 17 year old with near-crippling social anxiety going to work with the most social person in the White House. Things got even worse when they got through the front gate. Her heart was pounding and she felt lightheaded.

"You'll be fine." Emily assured her as they walked into the building.

Being with her sister seemed to calm her nerves a bit, but since the universe seemed to hate her, she had to go to an unexpected meeting with the President. Leaving Lucy all alone.

She stood in the hallway for what seemed like an eternity with no idea where to go until she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. A boy who looked to be her age with dark hair that went below his ears. He seems approachable, she thought to herself.

"Hi, I'm so sorry to bother you, but do you have any idea where the Press Secretary's office is? I'm his new assistant." she asked him.

He seemed surprised for some reason. Maybe it was the hair.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. I'll take you there." he said.

"Thank you so much." Lucy sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem."

They walked in silence for a moment until he broke the ice.

"So, what's your name?"

"Lucy. Lucy Rhodes. What's yours?"